Deluxe double vinyl version of Tim Stiles' solo album, Cicada Exoskeletons. Pressed on 180gm, merlot and teal vinyl with full color gatefold jacket, shrink-wrapped. Featuring custom art by Ryan Breault and Richard Lim. Limited to 300 copies.
IMPORTANT: Do you want your copy signed? If you would like the cover signed by Tim Stiles, please use the send a message option at checkout in order to request a signature. Signed copies will have their shrink-wrap removed but will be placed inside a resealable poly bag. Unsigned copies come fully shrink-wrapped.
Includes unlimited streaming of Cicada Exoskeletons
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
edition of 300
$45USDor more
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
If there were a "flagship" track for the album, Jar Of Fireflies would be it. It was the main inspiration for the album title and art. The song goes from the literal to the metaphorical, starting with me as a child going to visit my grandparents in Moorestown, NJ. During the summer, the backyard would be covered with cicada exoskeletons during the day and tons of fireflies at night. I would literally go out with a couple mason jars and collect both. The second verse is also somewhat literal about fishing with my uncle. However, through that verse then into the next metaphors of memory keepsakes and grasping onto the physical changes we go through as we age are the main concepts. While we may not stay young forever, we should never stop collecting and holding onto memories of the beauty that is life on earth.
The funny thing about this song is I had it written for a while but was not very confident in the amount of singing (I am not a great singer). However, when piecing the final tracks together for the album I dug this one up and presented it to my producer & engineer, Jay Battle (aka Qreepz). I sent him a rough recording over a different beat I had going for it and asked, "Do you think this is stupid?" Jay thought the complete opposite and to my surprise said, "No way man this is a pop hit!" Ha! So that's kind of the direction we took with it. Jay did an amazing job in the end and I it is now one of the tracks I'm most proud of. Crazy how that happens.
lyrics
Way back when, summer was the best
Hunting in the backyard of my grandparent’s residence
Chasing critters trying to creepy crawl beyond the fence
On the East coast, with the quickest draw in the West
Armed with a mason jar I snaked without telling them
Filled it to the brim with cicada exoskeletons
Morning made for special embellishments
But sunset staged extraterrestrial intelligence...
These are not the beetles I’m used to
So many of them, plus they can glow and fly
Mesmerized by such tiny lights, circling information
Just had to make room in the jar for a new acquaintance
Rounding up fireflies, astoundingly satisfying
Seeing eye to eye in a different form of communication
I was determined to capture each procession
Screw the cap 'n seal all of my new friends in
Call it what you will but I snatched all that I could
Far before “catch ‘em all" meant some Pokémon collection
When those yesterdays feel like fleeting moments
Please know they've paved the way of your entire life
Don't stop collecting
That collection's still growing
Sealed tight in a glowing jar of fireflies
Oh to see life like a kid again
Not a care in the world for how it'll unfurl
Nor when and if it ends
Just dancing to the rhythm of diligence
Never giving up nor into belittlement
Attacking moments as if minutes were limitless
Back when ignorance meant our age of innocence
Bigger fish to fry had no place in our vision yet
They were just prey in the lake we were fishing in
Here fishy, fishy
You cannot not run and hide from
What’s in store for you on the end of my line
Ha, may have rarely caught a fish though
But confidence from one catch was unmatched when we did so
After so much time to tinker, tying line, hook and sinker
The prize we remember was the praise from our kinfolk
We're still the same kids who crave honor
Sure, at a different age but on the same page as the same author
Nibbles in the lake may not come often
But still a single bird in the hand can create a flock of them
When those yesterdays
Feel like fleeting moments
Please know they've paved the way of your entire life
Don't stop collecting
That collection's still growing
Sealed tight in a glowing jar of fireflies
I used to take each moment as a way make advances
But now I only take chances under certain circumstances
You may not make away like a bandit
But the beauty's in the takeaway, never taken for granted
Gotta weigh advantage with loss in this age of wisdom
Life won't always toss ya into a lake full of naked women
Aging has its way of showing rate of attrition
Commonly in a cubicle where you make a living, like
What is this bright looking follicle?
And how many are left on the top or the side?
Heh, isn't getting older is so majestic? To make loss copasetic
I don't throw 'em away like an old dog's bone or bedding
Instead reach to the pantry to find a home to leverage
Therein lies that mason jar I've been meaning show attention
Unscrew the top, drop in the follicles rejected
Hold the glass to the light to admire and reflect since
This Professor X head is where they cannot stay
I let this jar's fire inspire brighter days
When those yesterdays
Feel like fleeting moments
Please know they've paved the way of your entire life
Don't stop collecting
That collection's still growing
Sealed tight in a glowing jar of fireflies
credits
from Cicada Exoskeletons,
released September 3, 2021
Written by Tim Stiles
Prod. by Qreepz
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Jay Battle @The Battlefield
Tim Stiles is an independent hip-hop artist historically known as the lead vocalist/rapper of the satirical hip hop band,
Passion Party. Tim is no one trick pony. He’s a clever, crafty wordsmith in his own right with an ability to adapt to just about any concept or genre....more
